We started our day at the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah.
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| A true air-breathing MOSASAUR |
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The City of Florence, a St. Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company boat, was named to honor the fast-growing city at the foot of Muscle Shoals. Upbound near Coffee Landing on February 8, 1913, she got out of control and was lying cross-stream when the towboat Tomahawk, down-bound and loaded with crossties, rammed and sunk her. One member of the crew and a young passenger lost their lives in the accident. |
We saw this picture in the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah.
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| US GRANT HDGS |
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| HAGY'S CATFISH HOTEL |
We ate fried catfish, coleslaw, hush puppies, and grilled veggies. Ava ate fried chicken fingers and fries. She said that was the best chicken fingers she ever ate and she told our waitress she rated the food at 100. She ate every bite. We took several pictures at the restaurant and near the Tennessee River.
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| Garfield's Cabin |
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| The History of Garfield Garfield's Cabin If the walls of the cabin could talk, they would reveal the intriguing story of an extraordinary yet wonderful resident for many years, Garfield Luster. The story begins on a hot summer day around 1920 when Garfield is given a ride by Mr. Narvin Hagy, a local traveling salesman. During this time, Garfield worked for a family that had mistreated him for many years. He decided to flee from this harsh environment, at which time he met Mr. Norvin Hagy on an old gravel road. Mr. Hagy lived on a large farm, bonding the Shiloh National Military. His parents were Frank and Mary Hagy. Frank, who had grown up on the farm, was a young boy of 13 when the "Battle of Shiloh" took place around their home in April 1862. Garfield eventually planted his roots with the Hagy family and, over the years, developed a close bond with them. During the many decades he lived with the Hagy family, he helped care for four generations. He not only cooked but also laundered and did other basic chores around the house, but also helped raise the youngsters... a duty he enjoyed the most. He nurtured the young family of Norvin and Dorothy Hagy, showering upon them devotion and care as if they were his own children. But Garfield did more than comfort, console, and, when necessary, scold the children, he could also entertain them as well. Many years before the fables of Uncle Remas were popularized by Hollywood, Garfield charmed the young Hagys with his folktales of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Another of his talents was acting. He could dress up as a comical character called "Aunt Emiley" and play her so convincingly that the c children momentarily would forget that they were watching Garfield in disguise. One of Garfield's favorite stories was his explanation of how he got his name. Garfield always chuckled when he told how Garfield was bestowed upon him following the assassination of President Garfield. Like his namesake, Garfield had experienced hard times: he refused to dwell on the past, only occasionally recalling his unhappy childhood. Garfield was born and raised in the small rural community of Red Bay in North Alabama, probably the son of a former slave. Garfield was deprived of a formal education, although he was highly intelligent and could have done well in school if he had been given the opportunity. Even though he was not articulate, his speech was peppered with homespun, folksy southern colloquialism, slow as molasses, dead as a doornail, hot a blue blazes, sharp as a tack, strong as an ox, to quote a few. King Kong 911 1h Garfield lived a long and happy life in Shiloh with the Hagy family. However, he suffered much bereavement at the death of Norvin Hagy in 1960, never fully recovering from the loss of a man who had provided a sanctuary for the greater part of his life. Shortly after Mr. Hagy died in 1961, Garfield was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During the last weeks of his life, Norvin Hagy Jr and his wife Teke took Garfield home for a final visit with his relatives, who, at the time, were living in Mississippi. After his funeral at his church, Saint Rest in Guys, Tennessee, attended by the Hagy Family, Garfield was laid to rest nearby in a small grove of trees. The Hagys will always remember Garfield with much love and gratitude as a person who embraced and enriched their lives. By: the Hagy Family Dr Don Hagy/Dean Hagy |
Next, we stopped at Shiloh Battle Field. The Museum was closed for repairs, but you could watch a film. We did not stay to watch the movie. We heard gunfire and went to check it out.
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| Young Park Ranger giving a demonstration. |
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| Park Ranger talking to Ava about being a nurse in the Civil War |
Ava had read several pages about the Civil War in her book and was asking several questions about the War.
The Park Ranger finished her talk, but Ava kept asking her questions. It began to sprinkle, so we hurried back to the car. We rode around the park, stopping for a few pictures.
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| Shiloh Log Church |
We stopped at the old log cabin church to take a few pictures.
We started for home, and the sky got darker and darker, and it began to rain. The closer we got to Alabama, the harder it rained.
Our last stop was at Wendy's for a Strawberry Frosty. That's what Ava wanted, and I had never tried one. We all ordered a Strawberry Frosty, and it was good. Ava and I played a game all the way home in our Imaginary worlds.
